I doubt that it's simple, and it's going to be the poorest, most remote areas that will be the hardest to access and fix.

I wholeheartedly applaud the initiative, but this seems like a massive undertaking that will run into a lot of unexpected roadblocks. I also think we are dealing with a spaghetti-like system that has been highly unregulated in the past.

So, let's do it, but I hope that it's handled correctly and with a degree of flexibility that (I think) will ultimately be required.

If we can't fix plumbing to keep our children healthy, then why are we even having children?

I don't think it's simple and I think there will be unanticipated issues. Plumbing and pipefitting are amazing professions, and the people who do the jobs earn every penny, but as any plumber could tell you, it's difficult.

We also probably don't have enough union plumbers. One step in initiating this massive project would be a push to get an army of union plumbers ready to take it on. We can do this by putting money into trade schools and apprenticeship programs and invest in getting the next generation of plumbers ready to go.

I know several plumbers. They are incredibly hard workers and what they encounter at job sites is sometimes beyond description. Their job is full of hazards and surprises.

By all means, do this. Potable water is a right. I just think we need to realize the scope and complicatedness of the task. I hope the lawmakers who are mandating this are brainstorming with plumbers and pipe fitters.

Been a long time coming. Many water pipes are really old and need replacement. This should also reduce the leakage rate in the water system.

So more people are working at construction and manufacturing jobs, then that money goes back into the economy.
Plus, clean water. This is a good thing!

Health win.
Economic win.
Moral win.
Equity win.

So you know Paxton in Texas and Leonard Leo will try to get it to the sinister six to overturn.

40 years ago. If we had started on a total program then we would be done by now and at far lower cost both in money and in children's lives horribly affected. But because water pipes and sewer/stormwater systems are underground it's easy for those who fight against upgrading the systems to drag things on until the "out of sight out of mind" factor takes over.

"out of sight out of mind" for the most part. Household plumbing and electrical systems are ones that are most ignored as far as maintenance or upgrade since they are just usually perceived as pipes and wires without any thought to what is happening inside them, around them or at any junctions to other things like a circuit breaker box, appliance, outlets etc. and in the case of plumbing the water heater, pressure tank (in some cases), faucets, toilets, washers etc. The HVAC gets attention many times only when malfunctioning or hopefully at least the filters get changed.

Years ago when I was looking at buying an old house the realtors would tell me how the electrical system in that 80 year old house had been upgraded to 100 amp service. I would ask them to show me the new wiring and outlets and fixtures. They would show me the circuit breaker box proudly hanging on the basement wall. I would explain to them that simply doing that part of the electrical is not "upgrading the system" but was only a "part of the system". They would do the same for the plumbing system and show me the shiny new water heater and pressure tank (on a well system). I would ask about the pipes, the pump, the fixtures etc. and they would look at me with a blank or panicked look. Let alone the soil pipes. Most couldn't tell me anything about the septic system. But they all sure wanted me to write that check for the down-payment.

Now, let's all sit back and watch the never ending litigation as certain states fight it.

Checking out bathrooms, kitchens, basements and crawl spaces. Some tenants may not be very agreeable to allowing access.

Concerned that there will be rampant fraud with kickbacks, contracts to local cronies, and houses that don't even have lead pipes getting them "replaced" at taxpayer expense.

I'm trying to find this spelled out by either the EPA or the state equivalents right now, but I don't think any version of the Lead and Copper Rule includes replacing water pipes or fixtures inside people's homes. That's a whole other level of complexity on top of documenting and replacing pipes outside homes.

If the goal is to reduce lead ppm values coming out of faucets to a tighter standard, replacing all the outside service lines only isn't going to achieve that.

For all the attention that Flint received, there were dozens and dozens of other cities that had lead levels higher than Flint that the media and politicians didn't give awareness to.

It helps, because removal of any lead pipelines (or galvanized lines that have been contaminated by lead from upstream) reduces the risk of exposure.

But for those homes with lead plumbing fixtures (or fittings that were sealed with lead) there is still risk. And I suspect those homes are overwhelmingly inhabited by people without the means to replace that plumbing on their own.

would go into houses in poorer neighborhoods and they would see windowsills where kids had gnawed on the paint. Little kids are known to teethe on anything available. Baby cribs too. Everybody knew it was lead based paint but some of the big paint manufacturers were right in Wisconsin and had big political pull. So it just went along with maybe a pamphlet or two mailed out once in awhile talking about not letting the kids chew the paint. Every effort at comprehensive exposure reduction has always been opposed/watered down by the GQP in Wisconsin.

In common conversation I used to hear the average GQP voter say things like "I shouldn't have to pay to do that stuff. "Those" people choose to live there and so that's on them." The ignorance I've heard over the many years hasn't gotten a whole lot better. People were just sometimes a little more hesitant to say it. Until the Orange Ruski came along and made it "O.K." for them and now I hear the ignorance more openly and delivered with more intensity.

With this one on Daily Kos: Why Is Gen X So Trumpy?

Looks like lead caused a significant portion of us X-ers to have IQ scores 6 or 7 points lower than they should have had.

Hell, I know a couple people from back in my school days who I would swear ate paint chips. Dumber than a dozen bags of hammers, with boxes rocks added in.

Chicago gets two decades to remove the poison from its water.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/10/08/chicago-lead-pipes-biden/

headline next year: SCOTUS rules EPA cannot issue rules.

The picture on it shows a water main, which were never made of lead. Where lead was used was in the pipe from the main to the house. I had a 1918 house in Minneapolis that had copper service pipe, but in some places lead was used much later. I'm guessing the utilities are replacing the line from the main to the house with the money from the infrastructure act. These lines do not belong to the utilities but to the homeowner. This would be fairly easy in El Paso because our waterlines are generally only about a foot deep. In Minnesota they are about 4 feet so it involves a lot more work. But anyway it's great it's getting done.

So utilities are supposed to be inventorying and replacing lead and galvanized lines that have been contaminated by lead between the mains and the buildings (but not the inside plumbing). At least some money is available from the infrastructure act, but this set of changes (the "2024 Lead and Copper Rule Improvements&quot removes some of the language requiring both the public and private sides to be replaced because the logistics of that depend on each states authorization for the utilities to work on the portion that isn't public property.

Perhaps the headline should read "Projected to save hundreds of millions of dollars in better IQ scores, fewer learning disabilities and better worker productivity". Perception is EVERYTHING!